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seattle, mon amour // 2002-07-16

you know sometimes there are days that are so bad, that all you can do to remedy them is think about things that are really, really good? i think this is sort of like the pollyanna principle, which i learned about last night in psych class. we did a test where we wrote down ten fruits and ten vegetables off the tops of our heads. then after we were done, we had to circle that ones that we actually liked. and most of us circled almost all of the ones we wrote down, because our brains prefer to remember things we like. it's kind of like when you date someone but then you break up because it's so horrible and you can't stand that person. and then, years later, you think, "boy, so-and-so was really great. what was i thinking breaking up with him/her? maybe we should give it another go?" yeah, that's the pollyanna principle. that said, here's a list of all the things i love about living in a city while i try not to think about how shitty today is.

• when trees form canopies over sidewalks in the summertime and weeds push through cracks in the cement
• when people walk their dogs and get tangled up in the leashes
• open apartment windows
• front stoops
• wet concrete
• public tennis courts
• coffee shops with big windows that open onto the street
• riding the bus when it's really hot and crowded, but the windows are open and you can feel a nice breeze on your face every so often
• soulfest, tivoli, and the capitol hill block party all happening on one weekend
• p-patches
• taxi cabs

ok, so maybe this isn't like the pollyanna principle, since i wasn't trying to remember good things about work (which is what is so bad right now), but it seemed like such a nice tie-in to class and all that.

did you know that odwalla now makes organic carrot juice? organic! i wonder if carrot juice would make a good popsicle? or if that would just be really gross.

before // after